Product Description

Quoting from eyewitness accounts, Richard Lawrence Miller allows Lincoln and his contemporaries to tell the story of this monumental American and bring a fascinating era of American history to life. The book covers Lincoln’s birth through his first election to the Illinois legislature in 1834. Subsequent volumes will deal with Lincoln’s life up to the White House years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #654601 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Condon's gardening philosophy respects the needs of all natural participants in the life of the garden: plants, pests, predators, wildlife—and the gardener. She rebels against the beauty of "those ideal gardens depicted in magazines and books," pointing out that "a completely pristine appearance is impossible to maintain." Her refreshing approach focuses on the virtues of many necessities. For example, that unsightly brush pile that is simply too much work to clear right now can be a haven for numerous species. Similarly, unraked leaves shelter tree frogs, butterfly caterpillars and small animals, and lawns, which involve excessive demands on labor and resources, "have a hugely detrimental impact on your life, other people's lives, and wildlife." Condon is instructive, sometimes didactic and tends to assert opinions, such as her views on mulch (somewhat denigrated) and invasive species (disconcertingly welcomed) as facts. While beginners may benefit from her exhortations, experienced gardeners might find much to disagree with and little that is new or revealing. Regardless of their expertise, most readers will benefit from Condon's realistic acceptance of every gardener's limitations and the joys of engaging with nature on its own terms. Color photos. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
"Native wildlife" and "suburban gardens" seem to be mutually exclusive, but not according to Condon, who cheerfully invites insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals to her half-acre yard. Such detente can even extend to such legendary pests as Japanese beetles and rapacious rabbits when the right combination of conditions are created. Whereas predominantly grass-centric gardens may only encourage visits from a few select birds and butterflies, Condon envisions a world in which lawns are reduced to mere buffer zones surrounding vistas of diverse plantings of shrubs, trees, and flowers that provide lush habitats for numerous species. And Mother Nature isn't the only beneficiary; humans can experience emotional, spiritual, and physical improvements from such an ecumenical approach. From providing water and shelter for wildlife, to mulching and composting plant life, Condon covers all the bases in a thoughtful and passionate treatise on the benefits of gardening--and living--in harmony with nature. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Marlene A. Condon is a writer and photographer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. She is a field editor for Birds and Blooms magazine and gives regular presentations at Shenandoah National Park. She lives in Crozet, Virginia, where her yard has been showcased on Virginia public television. She can be reached at MARLENECONDON@aol.com.

Customer Reviews

An Indispensible Guide to Backyard Wildlife Habitat
Marlene Condon's understanding of the intricacies of the natural world shines from every page of this wonderfully informative book. Condon makes it clear, in succinct, inviting prose, that she has garnered and is willing to share a great deal of personal knowledge about the critters that flock (and creep, crawl, hop and wriggle) to her paradisical backyard "garden" ... a term which itself can too often mean simply a sterilized plot for producing vegetables, but in Condon's hands reveals its earlier, edenic meaning as a place where man and nature can live together peacefully.

Among the many positive aspects of this beautifully produced book (glossy pages, plentiful color photos, quality binding) I will mention just three: a plethora of delightful natural anecdotes and wildlife factoids that will surprise even the most jaded natural history reader; a crucial chapter on the necessity of accepting--and even celebrating--the role of predation in the natural cycle of life; and thorough appendices of nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and educational facilities that can perpetuate a reader's awakening desire to integrate wildlife into their gardening experience.

Through it all this book is thickly graced by the author's professional wildlife photography, itself worth the modest price of admission. If the Romantics were correct in identifying the crucial task of the awakening mind as perceiving the remote in the intimate, The Nature-Friendly Garden must be embraced as an important step toward peeling the scales of artificiality from our eyes and opening ourselves--and our gardens--to the myriad wonders that await us. Slugs, bugs and all.

Slowly Warming up to Squirrels, thanks to this book...
I really liked this book on gardening and getting to know the wildlife in your backyard. Marlene Condon makes a good case for gardening in sync with nature versus gardening trying to fight nature, which always proves to be a never-ending. losing battle. I also appreciated very much the tips on feeding birds, and trying to understand the wildlife. The squirrels here in this neck of the woods are a very strange breed, very confrontational, rambunctious; one squirrel had a staring contest with me one morning when I knocked on the window to get it away from some things I had planted. They dug into all the container gardens I put outside, ate my bulbs - I was contamplating squirrel stew for a moment. This book has helped me overcome the squirel problem in a way; I'm sure the owl, or was it a hawk, a cat??? that had a certain squirrel snack on the deck also helped, too. Very inspirational with good tips on gardening. I think she should nearly have a call-in show on public radio....

My New Favorite! (And First Review.)
During my evolution towards becoming a member of the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habit Program and as a former professional landscaper, I have owned and read many nature-oriented/how-to, descriptive guides. This book has impressed me immensely. Originally, I borrowed it from the library having been drawn at first glance to the author's delightful photography but once I began to read it, I quickly determined (in a rare decision) that I wanted it "to have and to hold" forever and also, to give several copies as gifts. Seven months later, my instinct has stood the test of time. It is still floating around my house, to be picked up and enjoyed by all who encounter it.
As an earthing who is ideally striving with the rest of my species to lower our impact of destruction upon the planet, it is valuable to become as thoughtful as possible about the results of our interactions with the natural world. A Nature-Friendly Garden is full of charming anecdotes, practical ideas and philosophical orientation that will help spare the seasoned, but especially the beginning gardening enthusiast, the angst and results of making hasty, ill-conceived actions. Also, I highly recommend this book as required reading to (or by) the next generation!